Appointments

What we do now to provide access for patients

Ten-minute appointments: your choice of doctor/nurse, bookable up to a month ahead (bookable in person, by phone or online).

We hold a worker’s clinics from 07:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and until 19:20 on Thursday evenings. These are bookable in advance only.

Telephone appointments: with a doctor of your choice (not available by internet booking). If you have a non-urgent medical query, we are pleased to offer a telephone consultation with the doctor of your choice. These are bookable in advance. Urgent problems should still be dealt with by the duty-doctor.

Seeing a Nurse/Health Care Assistant:

The treatment room nurse offers mainly pre-bookable appointments with some appointments available to book on the day. You may be asked the reason so that you are allocated the appropriate slot.

The healthcare assistant also provides appointments.

What should I do when I need to see the doctor urgently?

We define urgent as you cannot wait for the next appointment and wish to be seen the same day.

We ask you to phone* to speak to a duty-doctor, during the following times:

08:30 to 10:00

15:00 to 16:00

The doctor will be able to:

Offer brief advice on the telephone (and sometimes avoid you having to come at all e.g. prescriptions and some certificates)

Agree you need to be seen urgently and book you a TIME to come during that session (avoiding a long wait for you), either at the local Extended Access Hub Clinic (based out of Bermondsey Spa Medical Centre, 50 Old Jamaica Road, SE16 4BN) or at Albion Street.

Offer a routine appointment, perhaps after suggesting some advice or tests

Offer a telephone conversation to discuss in more detail at a later time

*If you have difficulty using the telephone please come to the surgery and let the receptionist know you wish to be seen urgently. The doctor will speak to you briefly before offering you one of the above options. If you are offered an appointment that session you may have to wait or you can choose to return for it.

Please note that we are unable to return telephone calls to phones that will not accept anonymous calls.

Need to cancel your appointment?

We have a new cancellation line, telephone: 0203 049 7131. Please do not use this line for any other message as these will not be responded to.

Need to ask a question?

The receptionists make appointments and deal with repeat prescription requests and all other administrative duties. They are very knowledgeable about how the practice works so please ask them for any help that you require.

Home Visits

These are normally only required by our elderly or housebound patients after discussion with the duty doctor. Patients for whom a visit is not necessary can be seen in the unbooked clinic on the same day.

Please contact the reception as soon as possible if you think you need a visit so that we can arrange this for you as early as possible in the day. The doctors do most of their visits after morning surgery (13:00 – 15:00).

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

GP Training

We are pleased to be accredited as a GP Training practice. The GP registrar is a fully qualified doctor who has completed 3 years of hospital training and is spending the last part of their training in a general practice. As part of their training they may ask to video their consultation with you. This requires your written consent and the tape will be destroyed after short period (usually 3 months).

Medical, Nursing or Pharmacy Students

Students may be sitting with the doctors or nurses. If you prefer to be seen alone please tell the receptionist, doctor, or nurse. This will not affect your care. A sign will be posted in the reception area if there is a student present.